


These Bruises Make for Better Conversation

by darillium_night



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Romantic Fluff, literally this is just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 10:16:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16514444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darillium_night/pseuds/darillium_night
Summary: The Doctor is more nervous than expected about starting a relationship. After all, her friends always leave - even River had to go to the Library. She knew how it would end, but she hasn't felt so happy in so long, and Yaz makes her feel happy. She's ready to feel happy again.Three mini-scenes taking place over a full day of adventures with the Doctor, in which feelings are discussed, the TARDIS shows Yaz around, a first kiss happens, and cuddling closes out the evening.





	These Bruises Make for Better Conversation

**Author's Note:**

> This picks up right where "Arachnids in the UK" ends.

i. 

“Do you want to do it together?” The Doctor smiled, and she felt genuinely happy. She hadn’t been genuinely happy in such a long time. 

She could still feel Bill’s shadow echoing throughout the TARDIS. She could hear River’s voice. She knew that somewhere in the TARDIS, Amy, and Clara, and everyone else were still running around in time and space, their timestreams buzzing around her in the TARDIS atmosphere. /They all deserved so much more/, she thought. The TARDIS groaned in agreement. The Doctor and the TARDIS - the duo that would seemingly outlast the universe. 

Yaz smiled back at her, and the boys’ eyes grew wide with awe. “I love this bit.” They pulled the lever.

The TARDIS landed on an unrecognizable space station. One behind the other, Ryan and Graham rushed out the doors. Yaz began to follow behind them.

The doctor hesitated at the console for a moment before calling out, “Yaz?”

Her friend stopped and turned around, flashing her usual beaming smile. “You alright, Doctor?”

“We aren’t seeing each other?” 

Yasmin shrugged, unsure. “S’pose not.” She found herself suddenly feeling anxious; her smile faded as she broke eye contact with the Time Lord. “Unless you wanted to...”

The Doctor kept her eyes on her friend. “Right, then...” She was more nervous about having this conversation than she’d expected. She wasn’t sure if it would be right to pursue Yaz as a partner. Then she thought, /My wife is dead/, and with the same thought realized how long she’d been alone. And Yaz is so soft. The way she smiles could bring the Doctor to her knees if she stared for long enough. Her brightness. Her /dimples/. Her mild awkwardness. Her gentle strength she carries with her everywhere she goes. 

An uncertain silence filled the space between them. The Doctor wasn’t sure how long she’d been reflecting. “...I s’pose we are, then.” 

Yaz looked up, puzzled.

“Seeing each other, I mean.” 

The two studied each other for a moment. The Doctor started to take a couple of slow steps toward the soft human and thought, /I do want this. I want Yaz/. Just then, Ryan shouted through the door, “Doctor, help!”

“Sorry, Yaz. We’ve got to go, and I’m definitely going to need your help.” The Doctor grabbed Yasmin’s hand; that wasn’t new. They looked at each other for just a moment, and ran out the TARDIS doors into their newest adventure. 

ii.

Yaz always felt at home in the TARDIS. It was an unusual feeling. She felt at home with her family too of course, but something about being in the TARDIS just felt /right/. This was home away from home. She loved her family more than anything, but yes, they also drove her insane. She wanted more, and this was it. 

She could tell that the TARDIS enjoyed her company as much as she enjoyed travelling in the TARDIS. She was always being invited deeper into the twisting corridors of the blue box. And she always found her way back to the control room without having to think about it. It was like she knew every twist and turn of the interdimensional space ship, even though she’d only been a visitor for a few days now. 

Everyone else had gone to their respective bedrooms. Whether or not they were asleep by now was a mystery to Yaz. She certainly wasn’t sleeping. /How could someone possibly sleep when there was so much to explore? So much to experience/? It was all she could think about. 

As she rounded a corner and approached the end of the corridor, the door to the library opened automatically. /How does the TARDIS just know where I’m going to go/? 

Yaz entered the largest room the TARDIS had ever invited her into before. The rows of bookstacks were twice, even three times, as tall as her. The stacks and shelves were made of beautifully stained wood. The carpet on the metal floor was ancient, faded red with white tasseled edges. The lighting was low - comfortable for reading. A couple of large antique upholstered chairs sat facing each other at an angle. A wooden table sat between them. Against the wall was a tall wooden podium, with the biggest book Yaz had ever seen, titled “The History of the Time War.” She opened it to a random page, which had a picture of a bright orange planet. She read the caption out loud, “Gallifrey: the shining world of the seven systems.”

“It’s where I’m from,” the Doctor’s voice rose out of the silent whirring of the TARDIS. 

Yaz jumped.

The Doctor moved to one of the big chairs and slumped down into a comfortable position. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, Yaz. You weren’t in your room, so I just assumed she’d have brought you here. Likes to show off,” she winked.

Yaz chuckled quietly. “Seems the two of you have that in common.” She was still just enjoying looking around the vast room.

The Doctor watched her human companion meander the main area of the library.. “Guess so, though I don’t normally admit that,” she grinned.

Yaz moved past a few rows of stacks and asked confused, “Is that a swimming pool?”

The Doctor stood up and followed her. Mostly because she couldn’t believe the swimming pool was still in the library. Also because she just wanted to be closer to Yaz. She reached ahead of her and took Yasmin’s hand, gently pulling her back.

Yaz turned around to look at the woman she still couldn’t believe was an alien. She didn’t know how to kiss someone. She’d kissed people before, but it was always them kissing her. She held tight to the Doctor’s hand. She also didn’t know what to do, especially when the Doctor just kept rambling on about Space Florida. She decided she’d just bring it up. /Stop being so nervous/. “So, we are seeing each other?”

“Am I doing it wrong?” The Doctor seemed concerned that maybe she’d done something she shouldn’t have, or maybe hadn’t done something she should have. She noticed that Yaz seemed a bit uneasy. Anxious.

/Stop being so anxious/. “I don’t think so.” /How do I kiss her/? Yaz placed her free hand on the Doctor’s waist. /What do I do next/?

The Time Lord reached up to touch Yasmin’s face. She was so soft. Yaz smiled, and it was brought warmth to the room. Softly, “Yaz, tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m scared.” Her voice barely a whisper.

“So am I,” the Doctor confided, “I haven’t been with someone in so long. But I want to try with you.”

Yasmin was in awe. She was so nervous, but she had to do it. The Doctor was being oblivious, so she had to take matters into her own hands. /Have some courage, Yaz/. She pulled the Doctor closer, and moved her hand to hold the face of the woman in front of her. Butterflies fluttered in Yaz’s stomach and her cheeks flushed. She was shaking a bit. Her gaze moved up to meet the Doctor’s, and as quickly as their eyes met, the two of them finally met each other’s lips. 

The kiss was soft and gentle, but it was a real, full kiss. It felt nice. The Doctor had clearly done this before. Yasmin was less practiced. She’d only had a few pecks here and there, and an awkward makeout session with a boy in school. This was the first time she had felt properly wanted. The Doctor held onto her so tight, pulled her in so close. Kissed her like she was trying to take in every inch of her. She was wanted. She never wanted to let go.

The Doctor pulled away, starry-eyed and breathless. “You should get some sleep, Yaz. I can lie with you if you’d like?”

Yasmin pulled her closer, held her tighter. She nuzzled her face into the Doctor’s shoulder - her face reddening as she caught her breath. She whispered, “I’d like that, Doctor.” A contented smile slowly stretching across her dimpled face.

The Doctor tilted her head just slightly to kiss her partner’s hair, caressing her back at the same time.

iii.

Yasmin followed closely behind as the Doctor led her through the winding corridors of the TARDIS, their fingers intertwined. The Doctor moved so surely. Yaz wondered how she didn’t get lost in the massive machine. She passed a room she recognized, but it wasn’t where she remembered. She exhaled. “Do the rooms move around, Doctor?” The tension in her shoulders dropped, and she reminded herself to unclench her jaw.

The Doctor relaxed a bit as well. Half-smiling when she heard Yaz finally exhale. “The TARDIS uses a telepathic interface. She takes you where you need to go...one way or another…” The Doctor trailed off as they approached a doorway at the end of a corridor. “This is it.” She squeezed Yaz’s hand and then let go. 

The metal door slid open automatically upon the arrival of the couple. Yaz took a quick look around the room. It was more like a flat. Despite there being a full kitchen elsewhere in the TARDIS, there was one here too; smaller. A den area was organized just to the left, inside the door. It was made up of a grey sofa, a comfy chair to match, and a modest blue coffee table. The kitchen was placed to the right upon entering the room. Past the den was a large bed. King sized. To the right of the bed was a full bathroom, and to the left was a wooden desk with a chair. It was somewhat unorganized, but the system clearly made sense to the owner. Handwritten notes on distant planets and peoples, complete with small sketches and photographs were strewn about the work surface. Books on archaeology were stacked neatly on the shelf directly above the workspace. At the top of the stack sat a small blue book, with a design resembling the TARDIS. It had clearly been well-read; it was practically in shreds. A framed photograph of a young man in a bowtie and braces laughing next to a curly-haired woman was placed there as well. Next to that, a similar photo with the same woman, but this time a grey-haired man looked at the joyful woman like she was the only person left in the universe. /Who are they/? She wondered, and walked toward the photos to look closer. 

“Remember how I told you I can change my face? That’s me from before.”

“The woman?”

“No...” The Doctor’s face fell. “That’s my wife, actually. Always better looking than me.” She forced a smile.

“You’re married?” She asked the question casually; she was surprised by how comfortable she was. The Doctor’s bedroom made sense now. A well-done living space for a married couple. And obviously not designed by the Doctor, considering her choice in clothing. /Am I the other woman/? Her hands were placed in the back pockets of her jeans. She fidgeted with the seams inside the pockets out of habit. The room was warm. 

The Doctor fell silent for a moment before responding, “River died... Long time ago, now.” She kept her eyes on Yaz. 

“I’m sorry-”

The Doctor intentionally perked up and removed her coat as she spoke, “You should try to sleep, Yaz.” She kicked off the faded leather boots at the foot of the bed and draped her long coat over the back of the sofa, then crawled into the large bed. “There’s a wardrobe through the bathroom. I’m not sure what might be in there, but certainly something more comfortable to sleep in.”

Yaz flashed a big smile, and ambled to the bathroom, the door closing behind her. She left her clothes on the floor of the wardrobe, and emerged wearing purple flannel pajamas. Then made her way to the bed, where she sat down on the edge before sliding over next to the Doctor. 

The Doctor lifted her left arm, inviting her partner to nuzzle into her chest, and Yaz indulged in the offer. Yaz laid her head on the Doctor’s chest, and drifted off to sleep in no time at all, feeling safe. The Doctor softly moved her fingertips up and down Yasmin’s arm and thought, /I’m ready to feel this way again/.

**Author's Note:**

> I would really appreciate feedback on this if you have the time. :)


End file.
